Josephine Hart

Hart, also known as Lady Saatchi, was born and educated in Ireland and was encouraged by the nuns at her school to recite verse at festivals. Moving to London in the early 60s, she became a director of Haymarket Publishing. She was also founder of Gallery Poets and West End Poetry Hour and produced several West End plays, including the Evening Standard Award winner The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca. She appeared on television as the presenter for the Thames TV series Books by my Bedside. Her papers are currently housed at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University. Hart was married to Maurice Saatchi, advertising magnate and former political advisor and when he was granted a peerage, becoming Baron Saatchi, she was entitled to the title The Lady Saatchi. Interest in Hart’s poetry is maintained by an English charity called the Josephine Hart Poetry Foundation. Her published works include Damage (1991) which was the basis for the 1992 hit film of the same name, Sin (1992), Oblivion (1995), The Stillest Day (1998), The Reconstructionist, (2001), Catching Life by the Throat: Poems from Eight Great Poets (2008) and The Truth About Love (2009).